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Making The Transition What To Pack, What To Buy And What To Leave Behind When Implementing A Content Management System

A Web content management system makes it easier for non-technical people to create, edit andpublish content. If you’re considering a CMS because it is difficult to manage content on your site,you may find the journey brings with it significant opportunities, as well as risks. Get a realisticunderstanding of the effort and best practices from a team who has gone through the process,DEED’s CareerOneStop.Key Issues• Buy or Build? Many organizations believe their challenges are unique. But does that mean thata home-grown CMS system is the answer?• New or Used? Some of the methods that have been used to create web sites have changed.• It’s a Jungle Out There! Has your site grown like topsy-turvy? Is the content current?Relevant? Helpful? Is it time to prune your site?

Making The Transition What To Pack, What To Buy And What To Leave Behind When Implementing A Content Management System

1.
Making the Transition:
What to Pack, What to Buy and What to
Leave Behind When Implementing a
Content Management System
Mike Ellsworth, DEED
Jane Bungum, User Strategies
Riva Kupritz, Outsource Marketing
12/11/2009 1

2.
Agenda
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Format: Learn and Do
• Case Study: CareerOneStop’s Tekne Award
• How We Did It
– Planning: What to Pack
– Web Content Management System: What to Buy
• Implementation: Examples
• What Not to Do: What to Leave Behind
• Conclusion

3.
Begin with the end in mind . . .
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
CareerOneStop redesign won a Tekne
12/11/2009 3

4.
Begin with the end in mind . . .
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• DEED and MnSCU collaborated to redevelop
CareerOneStop.org, integrating a new web content
management system, a web site search engine and a
new information architecture and taxonomy.
• The site is now the premier source for career
information, with a greater breadth of data than any
other public or private site.
• CareerOneStop.org serves more than 24 million unique
visitors each year and its new look has garnered
mentions by ABC News as well as financial
commentator Suze Orman.
12/11/2009 4

5.
Our Task
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• CareerOneStop was overdue for a redesign
• Site had grown over a decade
• Needed to change:
– Graphic and site design
– Overloaded content
– Way pages were published
12/11/2009 5

16.
We Had to Develop . . .
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
Our people:
12/11/2009 16

17.
Clearly, Our Approach Couldn’t Be
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
Shovelware
12/11/2009 17

18.
But there are pitfalls . . .
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Graphically pleasing – fancy – design can work
against you
• Take this test:
• What is the population of the United States?
• Ready?
• Go!
12/11/2009 18

20.
How We Did It
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Planning: What to Pack
– Stakeholder Viewpoints
– Content Inventory
– Web Monitoring & SEO
– Organizational Readiness
– Process Training & Support
– Audience Research
– Site Structure
• Web Content
Management System:
What to Buy

22.
Stakeholders: Leadership/Sponsors
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Obtained extra funding
for the effort
• Constant opportunities
to review
• At one point, all work
was stopped pending
executive review
12/11/2009 23

23.
Stakeholders: Mission & Vision
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
Vision:
• Provide innovative electronic tools and Web sites that connect
individuals and business to the workforce investment system, foster
talent development, and support economic development strategies
for regional competitiveness.
Mission:
• Build and disseminate innovative, customized, self-service Web-
based solutions by connecting individuals to the workforce
investment system and fostering talent and economic development
through universal access to resources that assist a wide-variety of
customers make informed career, talent, and workforce
development decisions in a globally competitive workforce.
12/11/2009 24

24.
Stakeholders: Business Objectives
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Implement a demand-driven, integrated suite of Web sites that provide
workers with the information, guidance, job search assistance, supportive
services, and training they need to get and keep good jobs in high-
growth/high-demand industries and occupations
• Improve self-service options for customers of the workforce investment
system by leveraging the investments already made in the National
Electronic Tools
• Provide timely, relevant, and attainable information on career
opportunities for the nation, states, and local areas through interactive
tools that identify local One-Stop Career Centers, businesses likely to
employ workers with those skills, and other relevant services.
• Develop Web-Services to established public sector Job Banks and DOL
partner organizations to promote broad access and foster use of resources
available on CareerOneStop’s suite of Web sites.
• Assist businesses find workers with the skill sets they need by providing
demand-driven information, tools, and products for use by the workforce
investment system and its customers.
12/11/2009 25

25.
Stakeholders: Business Objectives
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Redesign and re-
architect COS to make it
more user-friendly,
accessible, and
responsive
• Increase awareness of
COS
• Increase traffic to the
site
12/11/2009 26

26.
Stakeholders: Key Audiences
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Jobseekers
• Career Counselors
• Employers
• Economic Developers
(public and private)
12/11/2009 27

27.
Stakeholders: Key Audiences
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Jobseekers
• Career Counselors
• Employers
• Economic Developers
(public and private)
12/11/2009 28

28.
Stakeholders: Users
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• User Needs, Goals and
Characteristics
– Conduct audience
research
– SMEs claim to, but can
never, completely
understand the audience
– Users feel it’s All About
Me
12/11/2009 29

29.
Stakeholders: Content Contributors
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Creator —creates and edits content, can be
Subject Matter Experts (SME)
• Editor —tunes content message and style
• Publisher — releases content for use
• Administrator —manages access permissions
to folders and files, user groups or roles
• Consumer —reads or otherwise takes in
content after it is published or shared
12/11/2009 30

30.
Stakeholders: Content Contributors (cont.)
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Despite best efforts, some
SMEs felt disconnected from
some of the processes
• Develop CDLC in close
collaboration with SMEs
• Be aware of any regulations
regarding content or
technology use
– OMB prohibits persistent cookies
– Policy for outbound links
12/11/2009 31

31.
Content Inventory
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• What you have • “Consumability”
• What you don’t have – Reading level
• Quality – Meets business
objectives
– Is the content current?
– Based on user feedback
– SME input

32.
…and then
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Delete
• Consolidate
• Update

34.
Accessibility (It’s the Law)
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
12/11/2009 35

35.
Web Monitoring & SEO
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• You can’t manage
what you can’t
measure
12/11/2009 36

36.
Web Analytics
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• What are users seeking?
• How many users?
• What pages are users visiting?
• What terms are users searching on?
• How are users getting to the site?
• Where are they exiting from the site?
• How long are they staying?

37.
Web Monitoring
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Log analysis and other
techniques to
determine number of
visitors and where they
go
12/11/2009 38

38.
Web Monitoring
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Monitor internal
searches
• Endeca

39.
Search Engine Optimization
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• SEO for short
• Involves making your
site attractive to
Google, et al.
• A critical question for
your WCMS vendor:
– Are the URLs produced
SEO-friendly?
– Can I set page metadata
for each page?
12/11/2009 40

40.
Organizational Readiness
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Moving to WCMS will liberate
writers, editors, publishers
• Moving to WCMS will change
writers, editors, publishers
• Moving to WCMS will challenge
writers, editors, publishers

43.
Usability and User-Centered Design
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• How users acquire,
process, and use
information via the Web
12/11/2009 44

44.
Audience Research
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Who are they?
• What do they do?
– Attitudes
– Behaviors
– What do they want to
do?
• What do they need?

45.
Audience Research
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• How do people currently interact with the
site?
– Content
– Users
• Reading Levels
• Goals
• Broad demographic characteristics
• Competing sites
• Attitudes vs. behaviors
– Useful Outcome: Personas

46.
Audience Research: Benchmark Usability Testing
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop

47.
Site Structure
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop

48.
Site Structure
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• The site structure must support transferred content
• Information Architecture (I/A) informs users of the
content and how it is organized
• The top level I/A becomes the primary site navigation
enabling users to quickly scan and form a mental
model of the site
• But it’s deeper than just navigation . . . How is all the
information organized?
• How is it labeled?
– How should it be labeled?
– You say tomato, I say tomaato…
12/11/2009 49

49.
What to Buy: Buying a WCMS
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• What is it and why do I
need it?
12/11/2009 50

50.
What is a Web Content Management System?
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• WCMS is software for managing and publishing
material on the Web
– Collaboration: many users can work together to
create, edit and publish content
– Ease of use: users are not required to know HTML or
other technical languages
– Integrated authoring environment: content
publishers can easily add images, graphics and
multimedia files to pages
– Metadata: keywords, tags and other metadata are
stored with the content, improving search engine
visibility
12/11/2009 51

51.
What is a Web Content Management System?
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• WCMS is software for managing and publishing
material on the Web
– Re-purposing: the same material can be easily
published in different places
– Separation of content from presentation: the same
material can easily be presented to visitors in different
formats (e.g., printer-friendly, low-graphics, PDA etc.)
– Powerful linking: the CMS automatically updates links
when new content is added or a URL is changed,
eliminating broken links and improving the experience
for site visitors.
12/11/2009 52

52.
WCMS: Questions to Ask
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
• Your questions will depend on your business
requirements
• Our requirements follow
12/11/2009 53

55.
WCMS: Questions We Asked
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
CURRENT OFFERING
Content repository services How extensive are the product’s core content repository
services?
Content management How extensive are the product’s content administration
administration features
Publishing configuration and How extensive is the product’s publishing administration
administration features?
Multisite management and delivery How extensive are the product’s site definition and
administration capabilities?
Content management application How extensive is the product’s ability to facilitate the
contribution, management, and production of content?
Architecture How well does the product fit in IT environments?
STRATEGY
Product strategy What is the vendor’s technology and differentiation strategy for
the Web content management solution?
Go-to-market strategy What is the vendor’s strategy for distributing its product?
Whole solution strategy What is the vendor’s strategy for customers in wide-ranging
Markets?
MARKET PRESENCE
Company financials Is the company financially strong?
Customer base How is the vendor’s focus and opportunity reflected in its
customer base?
Geographic presence Does the company have offices abroad to support
12/11/2009 international operations? 56

56.
WCMS: The Result?
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
We chose Tridion
12/11/2009 57

57.
Thanks
Introduction Case Study How We Did It Examples What Not To Do Conclusion Workshop
Contact:
Mike Ellsworth
Michael.ellsworth@state.mn.us
Twitter: MikeEllsworth
12/11/2009 58